Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Thanks.  I really appreciate all your help.

Oh, I wish I could see all the pics, but Joanie got excited when she saw one of her biological brothers, or oops, two of them.

Oh no!!! 

Just had to let you guys know that I finished Dixie.  Whenever I can get someone with eyeballs, I'll post her picture.

Well, I feel the same way about my bears, but Arcto has been there with me through some really bad times.  He's the one who lets me cry on his fur when I'm sad and cuddles with me.  It's like this bear is a part of me.  I don't know what it is about him, but it would be really painful to be without him, especially since I'm going through a hard time right now and Arcto is the only one who is able to help me.  I know that's weird and it's hard to explain, but maybe you other bear lovers will get it.  Even a week without my precious Arcto just really makes me sad.

That's an idea.  Do you think it would be all the bears or just the ones on the bed?  Cassie doesn't mess with them.  Oh, and I just found out that Arcto's tag says he's surface washable.  And holy lightning, that's a lot of bears.  What types of bears do you collect?  Do you have a favorite?

The thing is that I have scads of bears.  Should I do this for all the bears or just the ones I sleep with?  We can't put all the bears in the freezer.  What should I do about the rest of them?  The pest control people said to put them in plastic bags and seal them up for about a month, but I would go crazy not seeing Arcto for a month.  What do you think?  Should I do this for all the bears?

Well I haven't really gotten bitten except for when I lay on the couch because Cassie likes to lay there.  (That's the cat.)  I'm almost always cuddling Arcto and I haven't really been bitten that much.  The bad thing is that I can't see them, so I don't know.  My back has been itching a lot, but it could be because my shirt is bothering me.  The thing I want to know is, is there a different way you handle a collector bear than you do with just a regular bear?  As far as I know, Arcto is just a regular bear.  Well, of course, to me he's the greatest bear in the world, but he won't be fetching a lot of money on ebay anytime soon.  He's made by Passport Plush Toys, whatever that is.  I'm trying to contact the company to find out about instructions for washing, but I keep hitting dead air.

I hope not, but I've been told that they would and also that they wouldn't, so I'm not sure what to do.  The bad thing is that if any bears have them, he probably will because he sleeps with me and so does the cat.

How long should I leave them in there?  The thought of not seeing Arcto for a month almost makes me sick.  BTW, I only have two mohair bears, a few artist bears that are faux fur, and a Boyd's bear that is kind of collectible.  Everybody else is just regular bears.

Lol lol lol!!!

I did that on my first bear and then had to cut him open on the back so I could stuff him.  That was a pain in the you know where.

Our cat got out a while back and brought fleas with her when she came back in.  The pest control people came today and I asked them what to do about my bears.  They said I need to put them in the dryer on high heat.  I told him that some of them were artist bears and you can't do that, so he said I would have to put them in a plastic bag for about a month.  The thing is that I always keep my favorite bear Arcto beside me wherever I am in the house and I really don't want to be separated from him for a month.  Would it be okay to put him in the dryer since he's not a collector bear?  If so, how do I know which bears I can put in the dryer and which ones I can't?

Roger is definitely not made by any company I've ever heard of.  He doesn't even have a label on his tag except made in China and the ear tag with the WWJD slogan.  I'm not really into brand names, though.  I just thought it was unusual.  I didn't know it was common.  My mom got him at a thrift shop and when I saw the nose, I was like, holy cow, she got me an artist bear, except I've never felt an artist bear that felt like that.  He's definitely made for cuddling.

I guess it's a good thing I'm making this bear for myself.  I don't know whether to go ahead and try to sew the two legs together or get some assistance getting the front halves apart first.

I can't even believe I DID THAT!!!

I'm making a bear out of a little furry vest someone gave me and using a three-piece pattern I got from Lenora.  Apparently you're supposed to sew the two front pieces to make a straight line from the head to the belly and then sew the front and back together.  Only I won the duh award and had the bear standing on her head when I got ready to sew her, so I thought I was working on the head but I was actually on the feet.  For those of you who don't know, I don't have eye sight, so the way this bear is cut, that's pretty easy to do.  When I finally realized what I was doing, I just went ahead and finished the head.  When I got to the legs, I realized I didn't have two legs, but rather half the leg and one big ol' straight line of fabric that I can't do anything with.  Can someone please tell me how to correct this, I'm begging you.  Or do I just need to find someone with eyeballs to help me fix this hot mess?  I really want to make this bear.

Nope, sure haven't.

I didn't know that.  I just thought it was cool.  At first I thought my mom got me an artist bear and didn't know it, lol.  I love that bear.  I named him Roger Dodger because that's one of my stepdad's catch phrases.

My mom gave me a bear this weekend that has a shirt with WWJD in raised letters.  For those of you who don't know, there was a fad in the mid to late 90s where there were shirts and bracelets and I don't know what else with WWJD written on them, which stands for what would Jesus do.  The curious thing about this bear is that his nose is embroidered, but he's definitely manufactured.  There's not even a company name on this guy.  There's just a tag on his ear that says What would Jesus Do and a tag on his bottom telling what he's made out of.  I've never seen a manufactured bear with an embroidered nose.  Have any of you ever heard of this before.

I'll show you as soon as I get him finished and hopefully get someone to help with a picture.

I'm thinking about sewing a bear on the wrong side just to see what happens.  Do you guys think this is a good idea or does it sound stupid?

Honestly, I'm sort of afraid to go on Facebook because when my sister died it was all over facebook.  My mom lives on there, so there was always this sappy stuff.  I guess I'm afraid that if I check it I'll get bombarded with stuff that gets me emotional and I really don't need that right now.  I way prefer forums.

I have to say that I think I've found a kindred spirit.  We both like to give our bears original names.  Can I have your autograph?

Aww, our Joanne's is made out of awesome.  They even have faux fur there.  I think I'm a walking commercial for them now.  Every time I walk in there, they're like, "Oh, you're the bear maker."

I just created an account with Etsy.  I wonder if anyone would be able to walk me through getting started who uses this service.  If you would like, you can call me at 615-474-5011.  Thanks.